This invention relates to safety devices. More particularly, the invention relates to a device for remotely actuating a safety latch associated with a hoist hook.
Hooks provided on the lower pulley or hook attachment member of a hoist typically include a pivotable safety latch which closes the hook opening to prevent the rigging or load which is supported by the hook from accidentally coming off the hook. In very large crane applications such as in building construction where large loads such as steel columns are supported by rigging held by the hook supported from the end of the crane's cable and a pulley arrangement, it is not uncommon for workers to tie the safety latch of the hook back so that the hook remains open. This is typically done because, once the load has been placed in position, the hook end of the crane's cable and the safety latch is not always readily accessible so as to allow easy manual opening of the latch to release the rigging. Further, when heavy loads such as steel columns are being positioned during building erection, it is not uncommon for the rigging on the hook to jump loose from the hook when the column is set in place if the safety latch has been tied back. This unsafe practice of tieing back the safety latch on the lift hook is known in the trade as "mousing the latch" and is a very unsafe practice.